'South Indian' or simply Indian?

Methodology of The Golden South Survey

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A majority of South Indians interviewed in the South unequivocally endorsed their identity as Indians with only a little over fourth of the respondents stressing their regional identity. When it came to the response of South Indians living outside the South, a much higher percentage identified themselves as Indians. This implies that when people from the South move out of their region to other parts of the country two developments can be clearly noticed. Firstly, their identity with the region they hail from becomes stronger and more intense. Secondly, their capacity to relate to the larger Indian identity also becomes clearly apparent. The more distant you are from your own region the stronger are your bonds with both your regional and national identity.

The findings also clearly point out to the fact that the pattern emerging in the South is one of ‘multiple identities’. Increased mobility, greater migration and more opportunities of contact with people across the country and abroad have resulted in individuals wearing different identity ‘hats’ as the situation may demand. When traveling abroad, the identity that becomes prominent is the wider Indian identity. While working within India but outside the South Indian region, the ‘South Indian’ identity assumes significance. When in one’s home state, the sub-regional factor (caste, town, district, village or even family) seems more prominent. It appears as if the formation of linguistic states (the four states of the South are an authentic representation of this experiment) has given a strong voice to a legitimate distinctiveness and also permitted individuals to link themselves to a larger Indian identity.

CRITICAL MARKERS

The states of the South have recently celebrated the golden jubilee of their formation. Most respondents in the South were aware of the important milestone that their states had recently passed. It is also interesting to note that the highest degree of awareness about when the state was formed was in Andhra Pradesh. This can be explained in the backdrop of the intensity of the struggle that preceded the formation of that state.

Over the years, many stereotypes have been formed on the differences between the people of the North and South. Are there differences in the intelligence levels of the people in the two regions? When this question was asked to respondents in the South, a majority of them claimed that they (people of the South) were more intelligent than those in the North. Those hailing from the South but living in other parts of the country were much more assertive in making this point.

Non-Southerners living in the South and thus having had the experience of relating to both South Indians and others were equally divided on this question. Non-Southerners living outside South India - who may have had lesser exposure to those from the South, were also equally divided in their opinion on whether those from the North or South were more intelligent.

Is there a difference in the lifestyle in the North and the South? Are people of either region simpler in their living? The perception of individuals is often linked to the immediate situation that they live in. A majority of the South Indians were convinced that their lifestyle was simpler. On the other hand, among the rest of the Indians, close to a majority believed that the life style of those in the North tended to be simpler.